Bracket.



J. BERBEGKER.

BRACKET. APPLICATION FILED NOV.14, 1908.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

ATTORNEY UNITED STAILES FAEIEN'I OFFICE.

JULIUS BERBECKER, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO BERBECKER & ROWLAND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF WATERVILLE,

NECTICUT.

CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- BRACKET.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS BERBECKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of'Connectiout, have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brackets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in brackets for curtain rods and the like, such as are usually employed in connection with lightmetal telescopic rods having a ball or knob on the ends thereof. As is well known, these brackets, usually stamped up from light sheet metal, are provided with an upwardly extending curved or bent post adapted to fit into and through a hole or opening formed in the ball or rod end for the purpose of holding or retaining the rod in its proper position on the brackets. In order to prevent the rod from becoming accidentally disengaged from the brackets or the ball from lifting off of its respective post, various means have been employed, as for instance, by forming the post in two slightly separated sections, integral with the supporting plate of the bracket, the sections of the post being sprung together when passed through the hole in the end of the rod. In another instance the retaining plate has been provided with a transverse rib formed by striking the metal outwardly toward and opposite the integral post. In yet another instance the plate has been slitted opposite the post and the metal between the slits forced outwardly to form a hump or obstruction. In these as well as in other structures, the aim has been to cause the end, or ball on the end, of the rod to ride over and beyond the obstruction when the post is passed through the hole formed therein, and at the sametime obtain a certain amount of spring tension or resiliency either in the post itself or in the obstruction formed in or on the plate to lock the rod end against accidental disengagement from the post. Objections have been urged against these various structures, however, principally because in some instances they contain no resiliency at all, and in other instances because the spring is weakand short lived, this weakness being due to the fact that the bracket, made in one piece, is usually constructed of thin sheet metal having little or no resiliency.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 1 1, 1908. Serial No. 162,731.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

The purpose of my invention is to overcome the objections urged against the former constructions, and to devise a bracket which will contain a yielding obstruction which will permanently retain its resiliency or spring tension, and effectively hold the ends of the rod on the post, while at the same time being capable of production at a small cost.

l/Vith these and other ends in View, the invention consists of a bracket comprising a slotted plate, a post, one end of which is passed through the plate, the opposite end extending upwardly for supporting the pole end, a spring located back of the plate and secured to the end of the post which is headed over and upon the same, the opposite end of the spring being bent or curved in order to project through the slot in the plate, whereby to allow of the pole end to ride past and beyond the same and prevent it from being subsequently disengaged from said post.

The invention further consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view in elevation of my improved brackets secured to a window casing or other support and having a telescopic rod removably secured thereto. Fig. 2 is a face view of one of the detached brackets, a portion of the post being broken away for the purpose of more clearly showing the bent end of the spring projecting through the plate. Fig. 3 is a view of the rear side of the bracket shown in Fig. Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view taken on the line l-l of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. at.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents the plate of the bracket, preferably formed of thin sheet metal and dished or curved in cross section in order that it may contain and conceal behind the same, the spring hereinafter referred to, and provided at two or more places with holes or openings 11 for the passage of screws to retain it in place. Near one end of the plate, is formed an opening through which passes the bent end 12 of the post 13, the latter being provided with a shoulder 14 resting against the plate in order to preventthe bent end 12 from being projected too far inwardly through the plate.

Within the plate 10 is contained a spring consisting of the longer leaf 15 and the shorter leaf 16, one end of each being fitted on the bent end 12 of the post, the latter being upset or headed over and upon said spring whereby the latter and the post are securely fastened to the plate. The opposite or free end of the longer leaf 15 is curved or bent as illustrated at- 1 7, the bend being projected through a, slot 18 formed in the plate 10 and near the upper end thereof, the bend 1T acting as a yielding obstruction to the end of the rod 19 when the post 13 is passed through the opening therein.

From theabove it will be seen that my im proved bracket is particularly neat, attractive and pleasing in appearance; effective in use, in that I am enabled to use a comparatively long spring extending virtually from one end of the bracket to the other, and as it is made in a separate piece from the plate, it can be formed of metal which will have and retain the proper amount oftension or resiliency.

It will of course be understood that instead of constructing the spring of two leaves, the shorter lea-t may be omitted, but I have found that in the manufacture of the article, the use of two leaves as illustrated inthe drawings is preferable.

Having fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters. Patent, is

1. A bracket of the character described, consisting of a slotted plate, a post for supporting the pole end and one end of which is passed through said plate, a spring 10- catedback of said plate and secured to the end of said post, the opposite end of the spring projecting through the slot in said plate, substantially as described.

2. A bracket of the character lescribed consisting of a slotted plate, a post for supporting the pole end and one end of which is bent and passed through said plate, a spring at the back of said plate through and on one end of which is passed and headed over the end of said post, the opposite free end of the spring being bent and projected through the slot in saidplate, substantially as described.

3. In a bracket of the character described,

the combination with a slotted plate, of an upwardly extending post for supporting the pole end and one end of. which is bent and provided with a shoulder and passed through said plate, a springback of said plate and secured at one end "to the end of said post, said spring near. its opposite end, being bent and projected through the slot in said plate, substantially as described.

l. In a bracket of the character described, the combination with a slotted plate curved in cross section, of a post for supporting the pole end and one end of which, is bent and provided with a shoulder and passed through said plate near one end of the latter, a spring, one end of which is secured onto the end of said post, said spring near its opposite end, being provided with a bend projecting through the slot in said plate, substantially as described.

Signed at New York, borough of. Manhattan, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 18th day of November, A. D. 1908.

JULIUS BERBECKER.

Witnesses PARKER Goon, M. VAN N ORTWICK. 

